With her back to the goal and a Big Ten championship hanging in the balance, graduate student midfielder Peyton Halsey was shielding the ball from the prodding jabs of Rutgers goalkeeper Sophia Howard.
Ten shots earlier, Halsey evaded Howard to score the opening goal of No. 1 Northwestern’s penalty shootout with the No. 4 Scarlet Knights (15-1, 6-1 Big Ten). This time, instead of dribbling to her right as she had just minutes prior, Halsey turned left and ripped a tomahawk shot into the back of the cage, clinching a 2-1 (4-3) win for the Wildcats (15-1, 7-0 Big Ten) and a share of the Big Ten regular season title.
NU’s victory Sunday marks the program’s first regular season conference championship since 2013. The ‘Cats have a chance to secure their first outright Big Ten title since 1994 against No. 9 Maryland on Thursday.
“It’s unbelievable,” coach Tracey Fuchs said. “It’s the one thing the seniors haven’t done — win a Big Ten (regular season) championship or tournament — so I’m so proud of them.”
Two days before NU’s double overtime clash with Rutgers, the ‘Cats traveled to University Park, Pennsylvania, to face No. 16 Penn State.
Behind a pair of goals from senior midfielder Lauren Wadas, NU left Happy Valley with a 14th consecutive victory. Fuchs said the ‘Cats, who were outshot 11-8, didn’t play their best game. But plays from Wadas and senior goalkeeper Annabel Skubisz, who registered a season-high eight saves, ultimately persevered.
“We didn’t have our best performance Friday,” Fuchs said. “But we were still able to generate corners and shots and find ways to win, even when we’re not performing great. That’s a sign of an amazing team.”
Fresh off Friday’s victory, NU traveled to Piscataway, New Jersey, for the second game of the weekend. Fuchs said the team’s play Sunday against Rutgers was “resilient” — an apt characterization given its comebacks in both regulation and the shootout.
The Scarlet Knights nabbed an early 1-0 advantage following a goal from midfielder Paulina Niklaus. The ‘Cats were held without a score for three quarters before freshman back Ilse Tromp brought NU level in the final frame.
With 11 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, graduate student midfielder Alia Marshall and junior midfielder Lauren Hunter teed up Tromp on a penalty corner. The Dutch international’s ensuing shot was emphatic: a low, screaming strike into the backboard, tying the game 1-1.
“When she puts it on goal, it’s really hard to block because it comes up in the air … so we know (the shot is) either going to go in or we’ll get a rebound,” Fuchs said of Tromp’s penalty corner shots.
The two squads played 31 more minutes of scoreless hockey before a penalty shootout commenced.
Despite Halsey’s opening tally, Rutgers converted its first three looks, opening up a 3-1 advantage following misses from Wadas and graduate student midfielder Lindsey Frank.
Freshman forward Olivia Bent-Cole maneuvered around Howard to shrink the deficit to one. A save from Skubisz and a conversion from junior midfielder Lane Herbert, NU’s fifth and final shooter, knotted the shootout score at 3-3.
With all five ‘Cats penalty shots accounted for and the scoreline level, the Scarlet Knights had a chance to bag the game winner. Midfielder Ava Cickavage dribbled at Skubisz, with the NU goaltender making a sliding save to stop the first shot before Cickavage scooped the rebound into the back of the net.
Rutgers celebrated an apparent victory as the ‘Cats trotted off the field — their quest for a Big Ten title seemingly stymied. But upon review, the officials ruled that the ball did not cross the line before eight seconds — the time allotted for an offensive player to score in a penalty shootout — negating the Scarlet Knights score and sending the shootout into sudden death.
Skubisz made a pair of saves on the ensuing Rutgers attempt before Halsey’s tally secured the win and a conference title.
“We knew that Rutgers has an amazing shootout team,” Fuchs said. “They’ve been in a few this year and we haven’t been in any. But everyone stepped up. (Bent-Cole) needed to score and then (Skubisz) needed to make a few saves. So that (win) felt really, really good.”
After facing a pair of top-20 opponents in a span of 48 hours, Fuchs said the team was rightfully exhausted. But, eight quarters, two overtime periods and one shootout later, the ‘Cats were flying back to Chicago with one additional passenger: a Big Ten trophy.
“It’s been an amazing run so far, but as (the team) said: We’re not done yet,” Fuchs said.
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